A Distant Memory
by Paige242
Summary: Zac can't stop wondering about his biological mother and Mimmi tries to help him remember. (Post 2x15)


_A/N- Just a little idea I couldn't get out of my head. Didn't exactly come out as planned, but let me know what you think!_

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"Zac, are you alright?"

The sound of Mimmi's voice jolted him back to reality and he did his best to muster a small smile.

In truth, he didn't really know the answer to her seemingly simple question.

He was certainly doing better than he had been two weeks ago, right after he had found out the truth. The days after the revelation had been undeniably tough, but he was proud of himself for putting much of his anger and disillusionment aside and embracing the good that had come out of that terrible night.

He was still struggling to come to terms with his adoption, and the fact that he was a natural-born merman—but Mimmi had been an unexpected silver lining throughout it all.

Sure, he had resisted the notion of a long lost sister at first. But once the shock had worn off, he had slowly begun to realize that it wasn't such a bad thing. He and Mimmi got along well and, although he had tried to deny it, he was starting to feel the bond between them grow.

She was his sister.

His _twin_ sister.

And he was now happy to have her at his side.

"I'm fine, I guess." Zac replied, not sure if he was in the mood to discuss what was really bothering him. They were alone in the grotto, and he had been looking forward to a peaceful Saturday afternoon pursuing Rita's books with his sister.

He could tell from the look on Mimmi's face, however, that she was not going to let him get off that easily. The girl furrowed her brow and crossed her arms across her chest.

"You guess?" She asked, clearly perplexed.

Zac sighed. "Fine." He said, deciding to relent sooner rather than later. "It's just, I guess…" He hesitated. "For the last few days, I haven't been able to stop thinking about _her_."

He couldn't bring himself to say the name but he knew from the look on Mimmi's face that she knew exactly who he meant.

Her.

Nerissa.

Their mother.

Ever since he had accepted who he was, the thought of his estranged parent had continuously popped into his mind, despite his best efforts to push it away. He didn't want to think about her.

Not now, and not ever.

As far as he was concerned, she was probably cold and heartless—after all, most people didn't leave their newborn children alone on the beach, disguised as something that they were not.

She was the reason that he had been forced to live a lie for sixteen years and she had probably been all too eager to unload her merman son.

Sure, Rita had said that her choice to leave him and, eventually, Mimmi, had probably been a "last resort"— but he wasn't so sure. There had to be other options, and Zac felt a rush of anger and bitterness anytime she crossed his mind.

She didn't deserve a second of his time. And simply thinking about her felt like a betrayal to the wonderful woman that had raised him.

And yet he had been unable to stop.

"I've told you everything I remember." Mimmi said softly, her eyes downcast.

It was clear that the thought did not fill her with pleasant feelings either, and Zac instantly felt bad for bringing it up.

He was about to suggest that they change the subject when she began again.

"But I've been thinking about her a lot more, too." She stated, letting out a long sigh. "Ever since I found out about you. I wish I could remember what happened, and I wish I knew why things had to be this way. I feel like there must be…more to it."

Zac snorted and he leaned back against the grotto's stone ledge. "I doubt that." He said, his voice laced with bitterness. "Mermaids hate mermen, and she needed to get rid of me. So she dumped me on land. End of story."

Much to his surprise, Mimmi shook her head forcefully.

"No." She stated firmly. "I know she wasn't like that. And besides—" She paused, sending him a hesitant look. "Mermaids only give birth to mermen when they conceive…naturally. Since the war, most mermaids use the magic of the moon pools to have their children, and those children are _always_ female."

There was another pause and Zac felt his mouth fall open in shock. In truth, they had not spent a lot of time talking about this subject (at first, it had been simply too overwhelming for him and Mimmi had respected that)—but he had always assumed that merpeople had children in a way similar to humans. But that, of course, didn't make much sense when the two genders of their species were not allowed to speak…let alone, do _that_ …

"So then Nerissa must have…"

He trailed off and Mimmi quickly finished his thought.

"Must have mated with a merman. That's why you exist. And that's also why we're more powerful than most."

His mouth made a small o shape and he did his best to absorb this new information.

Clearly, the woman had not been afraid of contact with mermen and, by conceiving them in a "traditional" way, had broken some sort of law.

And that also meant that his original assumptions did not hold. She probably hadn't left him because she simply hated mermen.

She probably hadn't hated him at all.

Maybe it truly had been a last resort…

"But, then, why?" He stuttered, looking up towards his sister. As soon as the words left his mouth he realized that it was unfair to expect answers from her (after all, she had only been a few months old at the time as well) and all she offered him was a sad smile.

"I don't know." She replied, shaking her head once more. "But I think have an idea that might help."

Zac was about to ask her for clarification when she bolted up from her seat and began to frantically gather ingredients from Rita's potion table.

He could hear her muttering to herself, and he cautiously got up and approached her from behind.

"Mimmi, it's okay." He began, hoping that he sounded convincing. "I didn't mean to bring this up, and I know you don't know the answers either, it's unfair of me to—"

But, instead of answering, Mimmi cut him off with an abrupt wave of her hand. Perplexed, Zac moved towards the table to see that she had already begun mixing a strange blue substance together in a large bowl.

"Memory potion." She stated as she added a few white flakes into the mix. "I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner!"

Rather than interrupt her while she was in this frantic working state, Zac decided to watch in silence as she continued to work of her brew. He knew that there was nothing he could do to help and he already knew her well enough to know that she would explain when she was ready.

Thankfully, that moment came in less than a minute and Zac listened attentively as she began to speak again.

"It might not work," She began, her eyes flashing with anticipation. "But if we take a sip of this and try to imagine that night, then this might help us retrieve our distant memories. I haven't tried it before, but I'm told that it's sort of like having a vision—a very vivid vision. We should probably sit down before we try it, because I think we'll be unconscious."

"Woah, what?" Zac cut in, confused by her rush of slightly disjoined sentences.

She tried again. "If we drink this and try to think about the night that Nerissa left you, we might get a vision of that day." Mimmi stated, smiling as her brother caught on. "Even though we were babies, and the memories are long-buried, this might do the trick."

Zac drew a deep breath before giving her a small nod.

He wasn't exactly sure if he _wanted_ to see that—he had been abandoned, and the mere thought was bad enough. Perhaps seeing it happen would make it even worse.

Even more real.

But, on the other hand, it might help him clear a few things up. He had spent a lot of time lately being angry at a woman he had never met. Even though they didn't know where she was, and couldn't ask her for answers, maybe seeing this would be somehow therapeutic.

Plus, on a more basic level, he was damn curious. Mermaids didn't take photographs, and he had no idea what she looked like. As much as he hated to admit it, he wanted to see the woman that had given birth to him. At least once.

So, even though it seemed risky and unsettling, the boy quickly agreed to his sister's plan and followed her back to their spot on the ledge, two small cups of potion in hand.

"Ready?" Mimmi asked, wrapping her free hand around his.

"Ready as I'll ever be." He answered.

And with that, they both took a sip.

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When the world stopped spinning Zac realized that he was on a beach. And it wasn't just any beach—it was the same beach his parents had taken him to when they had finally told him where he had come from.

This had to be the place.

The potion must have worked.

Excited, and nervous, he quickly turned to tell Mimmi, only to realize that she was no longer at his side. In fact, as he looked down, he realized that he could not even see his own body. Apparently he was invisible…or not really there. But, before he could dwell on this unnerving fact, the sound of splashing redirected his attention.

As he looked towards the beach he could see three figures bobbing behind a cluster of rocks.

It was a mother and two children.

And he knew instantly that it was _them_.

His first thought was that the woman was beautiful—her hair was long and dark, and her face was surprisingly youthful. As he approached, he was struck by the familiarity of her elegant features—not because he had seen her before, but because he had seen glimmers of her every day when he looked in the mirror.

She looked like him. And she looked like Mimmi.

There was no doubt that this woman was his mother.

This was Nerissa.

Although he knew that she could not see him, he instinctually crouched behind a rock. His eyes still transfixed on the woman he thought he would never see.

Despite her striking beauty, he could see the pain in her deep blue eyes and he could tell from her complexion that she had recently been crying.

"Come here, my darlings." He heard her whisper, her accent distinctly North American. "We don't have much more time."

The pain in her voice was clear and Zac watched, wide eyed, as she pulled the two small children towards her. Perhaps sensing that something was wrong, they both latched onto her straightaway, their pudgy hands grasping her neck and shoulders.

As the waves ebbed and flowed, he caught glimpses of their tiny blue and red tails. Although on some level he had known it from the start, he reminded himself that "the children" weren't simply anonymous younglings.

They were him and Mimmi.

 _He_ , Zac Blakely, was the tiny merman who was clinging to his mermaid mother as the tears began to fall down her cheeks once more.

Zac watched, wide eyed, as his infant self kicked his tail slowly back and forth beneath the surface. It was an incredibly surreal sight and yet, for the first time since he had found out the truth, he did not feel any spark of denial.

This was how he had been born.

And this was who he had always been.

He knew that now, and he always would.

"We'll be together again one day." He heard Nerissa whisper as she placed a kiss atop both of their heads, one by one. "And I wish we could be now."

Zac could see more tears fall and, despite himself, he was tempted to reach out and place a comforting hand on the mermaid's shoulder. Even though he knew what she was about to do—and even though he knew she had made him live a lie—he still found himself feeling bad for the young woman. She seemed so tired.

So alone.

And he could see her shaking as she placed Mimmi safely between two rocks.

"Wait here, sweetheart." She said gently, running her hand through the tiny mermaid's dark hair.

The infant looked concerned and she instantly reached out towards her mother and brother, tears welling in her large eyes.

He saw himself reach back to his twin and he was instantly filled with a rush of panic and sadness. Even though he was not in his younger body, it was as if he could sense the child's emotions. He had not wanted to leave his sister, and the infant's bottom lip had now begun to quiver.

"You'll never be too far apart." Nerissa said, holding her son close.

He could hear her voice break and he could sense that even she was not sure of her own words.

After waving her hand across Mimmi to activate her invisibility, Nerissa began to make her way towards the shore, her young son clutched tightly against her chest. Zac could hear her whispering soothing words as she placed him on the sand and started to drag herself out of the water. Her breathing was laboured and she looked undeniably distraught, but her face was also set with a grim determination.

After much effort, she managed to move them both to a dry patch of sand and set about drying her tail with her heating powers.

His infant self whimpered nearby, small blue tail kicking in the open air as if confused by this strange new environment. As he watched, Zac wondered if this was the first time he had ever truly been on land—it was an odd thought, but one that also made sense. It was unnerving to accept, but he knew he had been born in the sea. What he was seeing now was undeniable proof of that.

He doubted that Nerissa would have risked bringing them this close to a human settlement unless absolutely necessary and she probably had not done so before this point.

This wasn't their world.

Or, at least, it wasn't supposed to be…

As soon as Nerissa's tail was replaced by legs and a flowing white dress, she scrambled towards her son and gripped him tightly once more. He was still whimpering quietly, and she placed another kiss on top of his head before pulling him against her soft chest.

It was a strange sight, indeed, to see this ephemeral woman cradling a tiny merman in her arms and Zac had to remind himself, repeatedly, that this was real.

This had happened.

And that was _him_.

Nerissa looked towards a patch of sandy grass a few metres away and he could see her eyes well with tears once more. Shakily, she got to her feet—still holding the infant tight as she walked towards her destination.

It was as if she was holding on for dear life, with one hand firmly against his back and the other tracing the outline of his small, blue scales.

"I'm so sorry, my darling." He heard her whisper. "So, so sorry."

When she stopped walking, the woman let out an audible sob and fell to her knees. After rocking back and forth for several moment, she reluctantly placed the child down on the patch of soft sand and gathered a few stray pieces of seaweed around him, creating what appeared to be a makeshift blanket.

Nerissa looked down at her moon ring before drawing a deep breath and placing a tender hand on her son's small forehead. Gently, lovingly, she brushed a stray strand of dark hair out of his eyes.

"I know you won't remember any of this, Zac." She began, her hand still stroking his cheek. "But your mommy loves you so incredibly much. If it was safe…if there was _any_ other way…I would never…"

She trailed off, her voice breaking and her tears falling onto the dry sand.

"To me, you're perfect." She began again, her hand brushing against the fluke of his tail. "I love you. And I'm sorry."

With a sharp, ragged breath, she looked towards the sunny sky and pointed her moon ring towards him. Seconds later, there was a blinding flash and Zac was certain that even waves momentarily surged.

Powerful magic had been conjured.

There was no doubt about that.

And as he looked back down, he could see why.

The child's tail— _his tail_ —had been replaced by legs and feet. He looked like a completely normal human baby now and mini-him kicked his new legs, clearly confused by the change.

Nerissa looked mortified and dismayed, but a distant sound seemed to snap her out of her daze.

"They're coming." She whispered, her hand on her son's chest. "Mommy found some kind humans who want to raise a beautiful child like you. I can sense the goodness in them, and I know they'll love you and keep you safe."

She paused, her chest heaving and her hands shaking as she bent down to place one final kiss on his cheek.

"I'll come for you when it's safe again, my darling. I promise."

And with that, she scrawled three letters in the sand—Z-A-C—and took off towards the water before the approaching couple could see her. He watched her disappear beneath the waves before she remerged near the rocks, Mimmi now safely in her arms.

In the distance, he could see the Blakely's approach.

And the world fell out of focus once more…

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"Zac? Zac? Are you alright?"

A jolt ran through his body and he quickly sat upright. He was back in the grotto, now.

Back to reality.

And he looked towards his sister with wide eyes.

"Did…did you see it too?" He began, his heart pounding rapidly. "Nerissa and the beach."

She nodded before placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Yes, I saw it." She replied, clearly trying to gauge his reaction. "Are you…okay?"

Zac hesitated as he contemplated his answer. He wasn't exactly "okay"—this was still a lot to deal with, and he had just seen his biological mother turn him into a human and leave him on the beach.

It was crazy. Surreal. And yet he knew it was true.

All of it.

She had left him for his parents to find, and she had clearly heard their prayers and chosen his home carefully.

And, perhaps even more significantly, he now knew that it had not been easy for her.

She had been so incredibly sad. So helpless.

There was little doubt in his mind that it had, in fact, been a last resort.

Nerissa had wanted him, and she had loved him…but keeping him would have meant danger (or worse) for them all.

The vision didn't change what had happened, answer all of his questions, or erase all of what he felt.

But, in a way, it helped.

And perhaps, in time, some of his wounds would heal.

Zac turned towards his sister with a smile. "I'm okay." He replied, feeling more at ease than he had in weeks.

"Everything is going to be okay."

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End file.
